so I am 7 months pregnant and have been sticking to my Swami nearly 100% which is fairly easy. However as some of you may remember I was having problems with some of the superfoods on my lists, especially the cheeses which are diamonds. That hasn't really changed. I am also having problems avoiding some of my avoids - like tomatoes and almonds, especially with avoiding dairy.

So with Swami -the problem is that avoiding the avoids that are neutral on BTD (like tomatoes and almonds), but then having to avoid the cheeses that are superfoods because I get a bad reaction...means that my diet is overly restrictive. I am already restricted in what I eat due to living here in Chile - I am sure living in the US you get to pick and choose from the lists and have a lot more variety, but here there is very little available. There is enough though on the BTD, and enough on the Swami if I include the cheeses.

Also, the juices available here for me that are unsweetened are pineapple, apple, grape and pear. That is all. On BTD I get everything but apple, and on Swami everything but pear. Recently the shops ran out of everything but pear, so I bought that. Then I cooked a chilli con carne with tomato, and realized that I am eating more BTD than swami now. Should I just go back to doing BTD? I know that you are not supposed to 'mix' the different diets, although I am not entirely sure why?

The almonds are a definite avoid on Swami, but they are the only nut available here apart from peanuts (avoid on both), hazelnuts (avoid on Swami) and walnuts (avoid on Swami).

I am a bit lost to be honest. I was really thrown when I started following Swami and got such bad reactions to the diamond cheeses. And then things like pear juice which are definite avoids for me don't seem to do much damage. Does anybody have any idea what might be going on here? I have definitely had some good things happen with the whole BTD thing - but Swami seems to throw a complete spanner in the wOrks.

Loops, if you did well on the BTD and you feel a little lost on your SWAMI, why not go back on the BTD?

This would be fine. It doesn't mean you won't be able to successfully follow your SWAMI at a future time, but with the pregnancy, you don't need to stress yourself about anything right now.

Another option is to stay with the SWAMI and when you need to eat something that is ok on your BTD but not on the SWAMI, just do it. Meanwhile, try and eat as many of the Superfood and Diamond Superfoods as possible. On the SWAMI, what you DO eat is most important

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are.Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.~Mary Jean Irion

If I was pregnant I would allow me to be the person deciding some of the avoids.. or near avoids.. I mean even after all is chosen you will still be much more likely to be soooo much better of then the average person.. I read only the first paragraph.. will respond later..

Being here is invaluable, but not enough. We need ALL the Doctors. I needed them for a very small cancer spot-I could never feel!!! Please do your mammograms! Doing so saved me from cancer later on. I am grateful! Thanks for learning from my experience! I was lucky! I wish the same for YOU!

yes I was under the impression that Swami could be for pregnancy too - I mean obviously ignoring the portions etc.

I have the baby book. To be honest it is not much help. I mean it is like an old version of the BTD with recommendations on herbs etc thrown in. It doesn't seem to recommend many carbs either for type O, which have been important to me. But anyway...a good book for somebody who knows nothing about the BTD to start with.

D.L. - which foods are you allergic to that are diamonds on Swami? How can this be? I thought Swami was supposed to be much better than BTD but now I am not so sure?

I have the baby book. To be honest it is not much help. I mean it is like an old version of the BTD with recommendations on herbs etc thrown in. It doesn't seem to recommend many carbs either for type O, which have been important to me. But anyway...a good book for somebody who knows nothing about the BTD to start with.

I would use the btd for pregnancy nothing "old" about it.

It is what is recommended for pregnant women.

MIFHI

"Do not try to satisfy your vanity by teaching a great many things. Awaken people's curiosity. It is enough to open minds; do not overload them." Anatole France

"Healthy people have the least overt symptoms from eating avoid foods." Dr. D'Adamo

I hope cranberry juice is compliant in your Swami. Otherwise there's no use for my suggestion.

Tomatoes were a staple food for me - they are almost a "must" ingredient in raw salads in my country, where a simple salad means tomatoes and cucumbers (both are Swami avoids for me). So, it felt very weird when it became an avoid. Lycopene I may still get from watermelon and red grapefruit, but the nice, fresh, typical sour taste of the tomatoes, I was sure that nothing could replace it. Yesterday I cooked chicken breast in its cranberry juice marinade - now my regular marinade for all meats, and realised that beside its famous merits, cranberry juice serves as an excellent replacement for tomato sauce. Just an idea.

I hope cranberry juice is compliant in your Swami. Otherwise there's no use for my suggestion.

Tomatoes were a staple food for me - they are almost a "must" ingredient in raw salads in my country, where a simple salad means tomatoes and cucumbers (both are Swami avoids for me). So, it felt very weird when it became an avoid. Lycopene I may still get from watermelon and red grapefruit, but the nice, fresh, typical sour taste of the tomatoes, I was sure that nothing could replace it. Yesterday I cooked chicken breast in its cranberry juice marinade - now my regular marinade for all meats, and realised that beside its famous merits, cranberry juice serves as an excellent replacement for tomato sauce. Just an idea.

nice idea yaeli, I would have to find a really sour sugarless version though, given my problems with sugar.

nice suggestion apart from I CAN'T GET CRANBERRY JUICE here. Zero. Nada. At one point they sold the highly sweetened version at a really high price, but no longer. As I said, I can only get pear, apple, grape, and pineapple juice unsweetened. There are SOOO many lovely tropical juices that are diamonds for me, and sadly, are sweetened with loads of sugar. So are avoids. It is so frustrating! The grapefruits this time of year are terrible - really really sour and unripe. There is basically nothing apart from apples, more apples, pears and oranges and tangerines. So I live on pears and bananas.

Anyway that is off the point. When I said the old version of the btd, I mean the lists in the baby book are not up to date. For instance, goat cheese is 'ok' for me, when I know it isn't. And it is recommended that type Os avoid beans and too much starch, which is terrible for me, especially being pregnant. And the book advises I take loads of calcium with no mention of magnesium! And if I remember correctly not too much mention of iron either. I have needed iron this pregnancy, as I have found it hard to eat meat for some reason.

Anyway, sorry about the tone of this post if it sounds a bit off - I am actually 4 days into cheese withdrawal and the last two days I have been very tired and irritable. I don't know of course if that is casein withdrawal but my guess is it is very possible....

My SWAMI gives me cheeses as well. I tolerate a little bit occasionally but it is never a regular thing. Swami also gives me veggies that my stomach doesn't like and I can't do starch or fruit juices or anything sugary. I just put all that on my personal avoid list and eat as much of the beneficials as I can. I pretty much end up with BT foods that are also SWAMI diamonds. If I'm going to have nuts and beans in small amounts, I know which will benefit me the most. After 4 years of trial and error I have a huge avoid list even of the nuetrals and beneficials. I have since stopped forcing things on myself. Beneficials have components that would be good for me but I figure if they cause a reaction over and over, they are not good for me. I pretty much stick top salads(all different greens) and lettuce wraps with good proteins, onions, artichoke and olive oil. Snacks are usually celery radish carrot and broccoli. Then a have a few nuts or seeds and maybe a little hummus here and there on my wraps (only about 1 TBS) .I eat a few cherries or berries or a few bites of other fruits but never a big quantity. That is my diet. Not much variety but the engine runs smooth. As you can see, it's pretty Paleo, which the good DR says O's would do well on. When I first got SWAMI, I tried everything and continually found out what was good and bad. Mostly everything I eat is a diamond, I just don't have a huge variety but that makes shopping easy. "Take what works and leave the rest"I do understand your frustration, I just try to remember that while doing BT diet, we are not like normal people but we're healthier for it

yeah I can get sesame butter but it is REALLY expensive - like 12 dollars for a smallish pot....

I am uncomfortable with having a very restricitve diet. Something about that just doesn't sound right to me. I spent 5 years being very restrictive eating nothing but meat, fat, vegetables and some berries and nuts and didn't come out very well at the end of it. I do much better with a lot of starch in my diet from rice, rice flour, sweet potatoes, bananas etc. I was cold and tired without carbs. However I LOVE cheese. But it doesn't seem to love me. I am wondering if my inability to tolerate casein is because I still haven't fully recovered from my prior restrictive eating. Just thinking aloud. Maybe it is a metabolism issue.

The Chileans live on sugar and bread. Sugar is added to EVERYTHING, and if not that, then loads of artificial sweeteners. It is maddening!

Cranberry juice is easy to make yourself, plus then you have control over how much and what type of sweetener, if any.

Quoted from Andrea AWsec

1 bag of cranberries1 qt of water

Put it in a pot cook till all those berries burst. Strain out the pulp. I pressed on the pulp and got some of it into the juice, sort of like pulp in Orange juice.Very tart but I put a bit in a glass and add water to it.I guess you could add sweetner to it...

Cranberries are harvested in the fall in North America- I doubt they even grow in Chile. And if they were available, they would have been listed with the other fresh fruits she has access to.

When it comes to portions during pregnancy, I believe in "listening to your body." Follow the food lists about which foods to emphasize and which foods to avoid, but the portions should be based on how you feel each day. If you need lots of rice and sweet potatoes, then go ahead and eat them.

What I would do in your situation is eat any food that's a black dot or better on either SWAMI or BTD, except for foods that you know you react poorly to (such as cheese.) Avoid the foods that are clearly avoids on either food list (BTD, SWAMI, or personal experience) and eat all other foods without restriction or guilt.

Eating too restrictive a diet isn't healthy in the long-term, especially while pregnant and/or nursing. You can't eat "the ideal diet" because many of your beneficials are unavailable where you live. So you need to do the best you can under the circumstances.

it is very frustrating not to be able to eat all my diamonds, or even to be able to get hold of them. I will just do the best I can. I am craving cheese again this evening, after being off it for 6 days. Not sure if I will eat it again. It is a complete nightmare.

Well the Jumbo here in La Serena does not carry cranberry juice and hasn't for awhile. I tried asking for it but no results. Also it is sweetened with sugar, so is an avoid.

WE do not have a farmacia Galenica either - in Santiago yes but not here.

Thanks for the links but unless I am moving to Santiago I still can't get them. Anyway it doesn't matter - my original issue was about cheese which I have finally resigned myself to the fact that I have nasty reactions to the opioid peptides in it (I think that is right anyway). I will avoid it from now on. I am sick of trying to eat it and then feeling bad for the next week.

Was there a mailing address on the website? It might be worth mailing them for information (be sure to include your phone number and email address in your correspondence, as they may get back to you via one of those even if you can't get ahold of them that way.

It may be possible to order "wholesale" quantities directly from the company, if you do it via mail, rather than internet.

a good example of frustrating stuff here - the freezers in the shops are full of frozen fruit pulp for making 'juice' out of i.e. thaw and mix with water to make a drink. They have guava, passion fruit, cherimoya - the list goes on and on. All fantastic fruits for me, especially guava (guayaba) which is a DIAMOND for me. Each fruit comes in two different packages. The first is sweetened with sugar, and the second, the 'light' version, is sweetened with sucralose. So I can have NEITHER!! Occasionally passion fruit is sold as the fruit, for around 8 dollars a kilo! Super expensive. The frozen fruit is sold as for around mil pesos (2 dollars) to make up a litre. Cherimoyas are hard to get hold of fresh. THey come into season twice a year for around a week. They are amazing but can not be transported well due to very easy bruising and soft skin.

Right now it seems they have stopped producing the non-sweetened pineapple juice as well!

Anyway that is enough whingeing I think. When I go and visit my family in England I am so happy to be able to have the variety and choice there for stuff like fruit juice.

I have been going through casein withdrawal all week. I am not eating cheese again, pregnant or not. At least that is something I have settled in my mind. It is just not worth it for me.

It makes sense that the unsweetened fruits are more expensive. Everything else is diluted by sugar and/or sucralose, which makes the end product cheaper. Pure, unsweetened juice should probably cost between two and three times the price of the diluted, sweetened varieties.

You might want to do some research to see if they've "stopped producing" the unsweetened juices, or if your local stores are simply not carrying them. If you can find the brand names of safe fruit products, you can ask your local stores to carry them, or possibly even mail-order them directly from the companies.

Or, you could eat meats, eggs, nuts, and veggies and not worry about fruits at all.

no I really love my fruit. In fact this pregnancy it has been a lifesaver. My diet doesn't feel right without fruit. I will ask them though about the juices. Things are pretty disorganized here so it is a bit hit or miss as to what arrives at the stores and what doesn't.

The dried mango I was eating has disappeared too I can't eat the dried plums due to the potassium sorbate which leaves me with TERRIBLE gas. They are avoid on Swami but green on BTD. I am now ok with sulfur dioxide as long as it isn't too much. I can get dried peaches here, which are ok on BTD but avoid on my Swami. It seems like everything plentiful here is avoid on Swami! No wonder I am struggling. All nuts are now avoid on Swami too! At least egg fried rice is fine!

This would be fine. It doesn't mean you won't be able to successfully follow your SWAMI at a future time, but with the pregnancy, you don't need to stress yourself about anything right now.

That IS wise advice !

Your baby needs your serenity above all.I truly believe you should keep in mind that running away from trouble is something to do. For you baby's wellness ! For your baby's future life. I know we are not accustomed to that... we are sooo responsible, always...

I read Dr D's book on pregnancy not long ago and remember it is written "noir sur blanc" that the mother's serenity supersedes the compliancy to BTD.